human rights case
1.) Yes, the situation of Emily is a prima facie case of discrimination committed by her employer, TwoheyCorp on the basis of family status. In the given scenario, it was shown that the employer has not made any reasonable efforts to accommodate the situation of Emily, who has requested for the approval of her work schedule in order to be able to pick up her two children from school. The case constitutes a discrimination based on Family Status, since the employer has not done enough to accommodate, or even make reasonable efforts to try to accommodate, Emily’s family needs.
Appropriate accommodations on the part of the employer would mean that the latter should accommodate Emily’s parental responsibilities by offering her a flexible work schedule in order to attend to her children’s needs, such as fetching them from school after their class.
2.) Some of the suggestions for the employer in order to accommodate the family responsibilities of Emily are:
a.) TwoheyCorp should approve Emily’s request to adjust her hours and allow her to work 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in order for her to make it to the daycare in time to pick-up her kids.
b.) Another suggestion is for TwoheyCorp to offer another schedule to Emily that will require to work from 7:30 to 3:00 p.m. By allowing Emily to go to work at least one half hour before the official business working office will give her the time to prepare for work and does not put undue hardship on the part of the employer. Giving her 30 minutes ahead of time before her reception duties officially starts will not be burdensome on the part of the employer. The employer should give at least a three-month trial period of hours to accommodate Emily’s parental responsibilities (Murray, 2005, p.39).
c.) TwoheyCorp. may offer Emily a period of part-time work based on the agreement of the employer and employee, the days and hours to be worked, and the time when work will start and finish. The conditions in the part-time work arrangement should not be directly or indirectly be discriminatory for both the employer and the employee (Murray, 2005, p.39).
References:
Murray, J. (2005). Work, Family and the Law. New South Wales: The Federation Press.
